Another big event is the 3-day Santa Rosa Cup CX. In part to find a formula for providing an attractive event for cyclocross racers, and following the lead of other 3-day events such as Jingle ‘Cross, the race for the Cup begins on Friday, 13 November. Juniors kick the weekend into gear with a 5pm start at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Racing continues into the night with the last start for All A Men at 8:15pm.

Saturday sees the same County Fairgrounds venue but with a course change. The finale on Sunday moves to Spring Lake Regional Park, a return for the venue last used for cyclocross in 2011. Racing on the Saturday and Sunday begins at 8:30am. Series crowns go to entrants of all 3 days with the tie-breaker going to the highest placing on the last day. The recent rains will dampen the dust and bring in new conditions for terrain and traction. This will be more so as the locales are certain to receive a good share of the rain.

“Stop. Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.
What…is your name?
What…is your quest?
What…is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?”

The quest for the Cup in just 10 days begins weekend cyclocross racing for the NorCal Nevada region and its 2015-16 season. The inaugural Rock Lobster Cup on 29 August runs at a permanent, purpose-built cyclocross course near the Bonny Doon Airport (8647 Empire Grade, Santa Cruz). Paul Sadoff brings this fundraiser, for the Rock Lobster Cyclocross Team, as an early start to the region’s ‘cross. The course comes complete with log barriers, a sand pit, a pump track, and a flyover bridge…make sure to attain the speed of an unladen swallow or an Aaron Bradford to get up and over.

The West Sacramento Cyclocross Grand Prix, presented by Cederon, is set to run again on 12 September 2015 at the River Walk Park. The successful inaugural event last year proved popular with over 350 racers on the day, including four categories each with more than 40 competitors.

“One of the reasons why the WSCXGP was so awesome and so successful is teams from the Bay Area showing up in force,” reports Matt Hargrove. “It was awesome. That singlespeed race last year was fantastic because we had a whole bunch of really fast guys come in from the Bay Area.

“The response throughout the year from folks has been extremely positive. I think the vibe we were able to put together last year, Rich Maile and Pete Knudson putting together such an awesome racecourse, and that we had such a great facility, all those things together really went well.

“Most have been raving about the race, making sure its coming back, asking when it is, and trying to see if we’re on track for making it a bigger and better race. The vibe has been all very positive.”

“Damn the Torpedoes”
The Clark Natwick Grand Prix returns for 2015 however as a non-USAC event. Tom Simpson and Pilacitos had laid out some lofty goals of bringing back a UCI race to Northern California. Bringing over top cyclocross racers after CrossVegas, luring talent to the fine City by the Bay, would have made a terrific addition to the Northern California community.

However, a Cross Vegas follow-up fell by the wayside as UCI gave a World Cup license to Montreal. That race was to run on the same date as the Natwick and left Simpson with little choice but to shelve his plans for another season. And, in what Simpson describes as a “great irony”, the Montreal event never came to the fore as Provincial funding failed to materialize. The timing of the Montreal non-event left too small a stretch to complete the original plans. As Simpson deplored, the “torpedo sunk us anyway”.

SuperPro CX, née NorCal CX, is putting on a four-race series for 2015-16. The season opens at Stafford Lake on 10 October 2015. Branded under its new name, the one fewer event than last year’s series is less likely to run into conflicts with a season that is already becoming busy. Murphy Mack also revealed venues for the other events, in the October-heavy calendar, as Lion of Fairfax (17 October), Kitten of Vallejo (24 October), and Lake Cunningham (12 December).

One always finds something unique and challenging at a SuperPro race. There is the Belgium Farm Wall, a series staple, but other obstacles that harken back to steeplechasing included a course that criss-crosses streams and the infamous Cesspool of Filth. Murphy Mack and his cohorts can be expected to string together more courses with an imaginative means to make the racing that much harder.

At this point in the year, organizers and promoters continue to apply the glaze onto their 2015-16 racing calendars. Until more formal announcements and final calendars are laid out on the table, here is a selection of titbits to whet the appetite.

A good beginning makes a good end and, as of now, BASP and Sacramento Cyclocross Series are the first in NorCalNevada to post their 2015-2016 racing schedule. Tom Simpson and Pilarcitos CycleSports tender the same sequence of events as last season’s experimental foray into two-in-a-row race-days; Sierra Point then Candlestick weekends run in November. These races are book-ended by September’s opening day at Candlestick Point and the Coyote Point closer in December.

Jennifer Claassen is excited about a SacCX double-header weekend in Folsom, on 31 October and 1 November. Reduced room rates for racers, happy hour specials, and dinner discounts are in the works. Meanwhile, the Claassen’s continue to work on firming up dates and sorting out venues ahead of a more formal announcement for a full eight-race schedule. SacCX enjoyed a renewal of sorts in 2014, under the new management of Jennifer and Clint Claassen. On top of a good season in and around the State’s capital, the District Championship at Lange Twins was simply magnificent.